Why we need to live with English

Given the poor state of our English education and its studies, the future of this language in Bangladesh appears to be bleak. Among the Bangla-medium school- and college-level students, English is a major cause of panic and anxiety. Lots of university students are also not comfortable with English. Faring badly in the subject is a recurring phenomenon. To cite a fresh instance, a large number of students have come up with below-expectation performance in Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination this year. This debacle has impacted on the total result of the exam throughout the country.
In spite of the popular outpouring of emotion over Bangla, the nation has never lowered the importance of English. English has not ever been an irritant in the nation's collective psyche, and in its long struggle for cultural emancipation. In the Language Movement of 1952, Urdu became a victim of the Bengalee disdain due its being a fall guy. Now that Bangla is enjoying the glory of state language of an independent nation, we can honour any language in the world unhesitatingly. The country has been well aware of the value of English competency since it gained independence in 1971. Over the past 44 years, much has been said about the critical role English plays in the modern world's knowledge structure as well as information and communication, and trade & commerce. Unfortunately, we have yet to see any noticeable progress in this regard in the country. However, as a nation Bangladesh has a long tradition of living with English.      
Many non-English speaking countries, a lot of whom never linked to it in the past, have increasingly been turning to the language these days. But in the modern times, especially in the days of free market and globalisation, these countries have no alternative but to learn the de facto global language -- English.
However, the French, the Germans and other 'language-centric' nations have yet to allow English to make major inroads into their territories. The Francophone countries across the world, especially in Africa, are generally not interested in learning English.
Meanwhile, people speaking Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Japanese have no trouble attaching high importance to English. Even the Arabic-dominant Middle East and northern Africa have laid considerable emphasis on teaching and learning English. In the Indian sub-continent, English began to be used as the language of the government administration and business from the 18th century. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the official language Persian started losing its glory. Against the backdrop of the fast spread of English in the colonial government's day-to-day functions, the legal system and education, the English language found its firm roots in the sub-continent. It took no time for English to become pervasive in all the spheres of life. A sizeable number of local people emerged in the following period. They produced scholarly works in English.  The British rulers did not undermine the local languages. But they have put in their efforts to make English popular among the educated class. Businesspeople had few options except learning both the written and spoken English. By the 19th century the sub-continent had witnessed a powerful English-knowing elite class in different provinces in India. Among them, Bengal was in a leading position. As part of their many virtues, the British clergies-turned-scholars played a pioneering role in giving a formal shape to the Bangla language. It is one of them who had written the first-ever grammar book on Bangla.
The history of the sub-continent, its later partition and the creation of independent Bangladesh witnessed a love-hate relationship with the English language. The vast intrinsic resource and the eclecticism of English notwithstanding, the language had to go through lots of popular hostilities in the initial period in the sub-continent. This disaffection grew out of the fact that the British were the rulers, at times ruthless. It was due to its being a colonial power, the general people in the region had dithered for long before accepting English wholeheartedly. From a different standpoint, a number of native communities opposed accepting English on religious and ethnic grounds. However, these hindrances did not last longer. Social reformers emerged to enlighten people on the benefits of learning this alien language. Although the affluent non-Muslim families in colonial India had no qualms about embracing English in their academic pursuits, the conservative Muslims kept their distance from the language. Many historians blame the shunning of English by the sub-continental Muslims of the time for their backwardness. However, the scenario changed radically in the later decades. New-generation Muslims in the region came up to choose English as the medium of academic activities and scholarly exercises.
The inhibitions surrounding English have largely disappeared from South Asia. The endeavours of Bangladesh government to promote English are ostensibly impressive. But alongside the introduction of Bangla in all government sectors, the government ought to be more focused on imparting English skill to the younger segments of the population. The ongoing thrust on the information and communications technology (ICT) sector ought to be complemented by enhanced skill in English. After all, the online world is now overwhelmingly operated in English.
(In 1887, a Polish physician and linguist devised a language that was meant for using globally. His name was Dr Ludwig Lazarus Zamenholf and the language Esperanto. It was called an international auxiliary language. The language was written in Latin alphabet. Presently 2000,000 people use the language worldwide. It enjoys a remarkable presence in 120 countries. Thanks to its simple grammar and rules, the artificial language had offered a lot of prospects for easy communication between people, but no country adopted Esperanto officially. It was recommended by the French Academy of Sciences in 1921. UNESCO recognised it in 1954.)
Apart from the standard style, English today survives in a number of localised forms. In the continent of Africa, pidgin and patois English forms have long been in use. In some Sub-Saharan African countries, pidgin is used  even in literary activities. Despite the recognition of 'Indian English' words by linguists, the English used by the sub-continent's people in general does not differ much from the standard form. There is no such English variant called 'Bangladeshi or Bengali' English, although Bangla words have lately begun finding place in some dictionaries.       
There is no denying the fact that English has become a lingua franca of the world. Due to its eclectic character and the inherent beauty, English has been able to continue its linguistic conquests. Those using it have been benefited immensely. For Bangladesh, it's a window on the world.
shihabskr@ymail.com